Article 4. Administration and Supervision and Support Personnel
8VAC20-543-570. Administration and supervision preK-12.
A. The program in administration and supervision preK-12 shall ensure that the candidate has completed three years of successful, full-time experience in a public school or accredited nonpublic school in an instructional personnel position that requires licensure in Virginia and demonstrated the following competencies:
1. Knowledge, understanding, and application of planning, assessment, and instructional leadership that builds collective professional capacity, including;
a. Principles of student motivation, growth, and development as a foundation for age-appropriate and grade-appropriate curriculum, instruction, and assessment;
b. Collaborative leadership in gathering and analyzing data to identify needs to develop and implement a school improvement plan that results in increased student learning;
c. Planning, implementation, and refinement of standards-based curriculum aligned with instruction and assessment;
d. Collaborative planning and implementation of a variety of assessment techniques, including examination of student work, that yield individual, class, grade level, and school level data as a foundation for identifying existing competencies and targeting areas in need of further attention;
e. Incorporation of differentiated and effective instruction that responds to individual learner needs including appropriate response to cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity;
f. Knowledge, understanding, and application of the federal and state regulatory requirements and expectations associated with identification, education, and evaluation of students with disabilities; comprehension of (i) key special education laws and regulations; (ii) individualized education program development; (iii) the roles and responsibilities of special education teachers; and (iv) appropriate behavior management practices;
g. Collaboratively working with parents and school personnel to ensure that students with disabilities are included as a valued part of the school community, and that they receive effective and appropriately intensive instruction to assist them in meeting the standards set for all students, as well as individual goals outlined in their individualized education plans (IEPs);
h. Integration of technology in curriculum and instruction to enhance learner understanding;
i. Identification, analysis, and resolution of problems using effective problem-solving techniques; and
j. Development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of excellence linked to mission and core beliefs that promote continuous improvement consistent with the goals of the school division.
2. Knowledge, understanding, and application of leadership and organizations, including;
a. The change process of systems, organizations, and individuals using appropriate and effective adult learning models;
b. Aligning organizational practice, division mission, and core beliefs for developing and implementing strategic plans;
c. Information sources and processing, including data collection and data analysis strategies;
d. Using data as a part of ongoing program evaluation to inform and lead change;
e. Developing a change management strategy for improved student outcomes;
f. Developing distributed leadership strategies to create personalized learning environments for diverse schools; and
g. Effective two-way communication skills including consensus building, negotiation, and mediation skills.
3. Knowledge, understanding, and application of management and leadership skills that achieve effective and efficient organizational operations and sustain an instructional program conducive to student academic progress, including;
a. Alignment of curriculum and instruction and assessment of the educational program to achieve high academic success at the school and division or district level;
b. Principles and issues of supervising and leading others to ensure a working and learning climate that is safe, secure, and respectful of a diverse school community;
c. Management decisions that ensure successful teaching and learning including human resources management and development, theories of motivation, change in school culture, innovation and creativity, conflict resolution, adult learning, and professional development models;
d. Knowledge, understanding, and application of Virginia's Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers and the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Principals;
e. Principles and issues related to fiscal operations of school management;
f. Principles and issues related to school facilities and use of space and time for supporting high-quality school instruction and student learning;
g. Legal issues impacting school operations and management;
h. Technologies that support management functions; and
i. Application of data-driven decision-making to initiate and continue improvement in school and classroom practices and student achievement.
4. Knowledge, understanding, and application of the conditions and dynamics impacting a diverse school community, including:
a. Emerging issues and trends within school and community relations;
b. Working collaboratively with staff, families, and community members to secure resources and to support the success of a diverse population;
c. Developing appropriate public relations and public engagement strategies and processes for building and sustaining positive relationships with families, caregivers, and community partners; and
d. Integration of technology to support communication efforts.
5. Knowledge, understanding, and application of the purpose of education and the role of professionalism in advancing educational goals, including:
a. Philosophy of education that reflects commitment to principles of honesty, fairness, caring, and equity in day-to-day professional behavior;
b. Integration of high quality, content rich, job-embedded professional learning that respects the contribution of all faculty and staff members in building a diverse professional learning community;
c. Reflective understanding of potential moral and legal consequences of decision-making in the school setting;
d. Intentional and purposeful effort to model professional, moral, and ethical standards, as well as personal integrity in all interactions; and
e. Intentional and purposeful effort to model continuous professional learning and to work collegially and collaboratively with all members of the school community to support the school's goals and enhance its collective capacity.
6. Knowledge, understanding, and application of basic leadership theories and influences that impact schools including:
a. Concepts of leadership including systems theory, change theory, learning organizations, and current leadership theory;
b. Ability to identify and respond to internal and external forces and influences on a school;
c. Ability to identify and apply the processes of educational policy development at the state, local, and school level; and
d. Ability to identify and demonstrate ways to influence educational policy development at the state, local, and school level.
B. Complete a deliberately structured and supervised internship that is focused on student academic progress for all students and
1. Provides significant experiences within a school environment for candidates to synthesize and apply the content knowledge and develop professional skills through school-based leadership experiences;
2. Shall occur in a public or accredited nonpublic school;
3. Provides exposure to five different multiple sites, including elementary, middle, high, central office, and agency with diverse student populations; and
4. Documents a minimum of 320 clock hours of administration and supervision internship, of which at least 120 clock hours are embedded as experiential field-based opportunities experienced during coursework.
C. Satisfy the requirements for the school leaders licensure assessment prescribed by the Board of Education. Individuals seeking an initial administration and supervision endorsement who are interested in serving as central office instructional personnel are not required to take and pass the school leaders assessment prescribed by the Board of Education.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018; amended, Virginia Register Volume 38, Issue 12, eff. April 1, 2022.
8VAC20-543-580. Mathematics specialist for elementary education.
A. A mathematics specialist is a teacher in the elementary grades who has interest and special preparation in mathematics content, scientifically based research in the teaching and learning of mathematics, diagnostic and assessment methods, and leadership skills. The school-based mathematics specialist shall serve as a resource in professional development, instructing children who have learning difficulties in mathematics, curriculum development and implementation, mentoring new teachers, and parent and community education.
B. The mathematics specialist program shall ensure that the candidate has completed at least three years of successful classroom teaching experience in which the teaching of mathematics was an important responsibility and demonstrated the following competencies:
1. Understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes of the Virginia Mathematics Standards of Learning and how curriculum may be organized to teach these standards to diverse learners;
2. Understanding of a core knowledge base of concepts and procedures within the discipline of mathematics, including the following strands: number systems and number theory; geometry and measurement; statistics and probability; and functions and algebra;
3. Understanding of the sequential nature of mathematics, the vertical progression of mathematical standards, and the mathematical structures inherent in the content strands;
4. Understanding of the connections among mathematical concepts and procedures and their practical applications;
5. Understanding of and the ability to use the five processes - becoming mathematical problem-solvers, reasoning mathematically, communicating mathematically, making mathematical connections, and using mathematical models and representations - at different levels of complexity;
6. Understanding of major current curriculum studies and trends in mathematics;
7. Understanding how to utilize appropriate technologies for teaching and learning mathematics including virtual manipulatives;
8. Understanding of and the ability to select, adapt, evaluate, and use instructional materials and resources, including professional journals and technology;
9. Understanding of and the ability to use strategies for managing, assessing, and monitoring student learning, including diagnosing student errors;
10. Understanding of and the ability to use strategies to teach mathematics to diverse learners;
11. Understanding of leadership skills needed to improve mathematics programs at the school and division levels, including the needs of high-achieving and low-achieving students and of strategies to challenge them at appropriate levels; child psychology, including personality and learning behaviors; educational measurement and evaluation; and effective professional development approaches;
12. Understanding of how to develop and lead appropriate professional development based on the needs of students and the school community;
13. Understanding of how to work with school-based administration for the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning;
14. Understanding of how to effectively mentor teachers for the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning;
15. Understanding of how to effectively work with parents and the at-large community to improve mathematics teaching and learning;
16. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing; and
17. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018.
8VAC20-543-590. Mathematics specialist for elementary and middle education.
A. A mathematics specialist is a teacher in the elementary or middle grades who has interest and special preparation in mathematics content, scientifically-based research in the teaching and learning of mathematics, diagnostic and assessment methods, and leadership skills. The school-based mathematics specialist shall serve as a resource in professional development, instructing children who have learning difficulties in mathematics, curriculum development and implementation, mentoring new teachers, and parent and community education.
B. The mathematics specialist program shall ensure that the candidate has completed at least three years of successful classroom teaching experience in a public or accredited nonpublic school in which the teaching of mathematics was an important responsibility and demonstrated the following competencies:
1. Understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes of the Virginia Mathematics Standards of Learning and how curriculum may be organized to teach these standards to diverse learners;
2. Understanding of a core knowledge base of concepts and procedures within the discipline of mathematics, including the following strands: number systems and number theory; geometry and measurement; statistics and probability; and functions and algebra;
3. Understanding of the sequential nature of mathematics, the vertical progression of mathematical standards, and the mathematical structures inherent in the content strands;
4. Understanding of the connections among mathematical concepts and procedures and their practical applications;
5. Understanding of and the ability to use the five processes - becoming mathematical problem-solvers, reasoning mathematically, communicating mathematically, making mathematical connections, and using mathematical models and representations - at different levels of complexity;
6. Understanding of major current curriculum studies and trends in mathematics;
7. Understanding how to utilize appropriate technologies for teaching and learning mathematics, including graphing utilities, dynamic software, spreadsheets, and virtual manipulatives;
8. Understanding of and the ability to select, adapt, evaluate, and use instructional materials and resources, including professional journals and technology;
9. Understanding of and the ability to use strategies for managing, assessing, and monitoring student learning, including diagnosing student errors;
10. Understanding of and the ability to use strategies to teach mathematics to diverse learners;
11. Understanding of leadership skills needed to improve mathematics programs at the school and division levels, including the needs of high-achieving and low-achieving students and of strategies to challenge them at appropriate levels; child psychology, including personality and learning behaviors; educational measurement and evaluation; and effective professional development approaches;
12. Understanding of how to develop and lead appropriate professional development based on the needs of students and the school community;
13. Understanding of how to work with school-based administration for the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning;
14. Understanding of how to effectively mentor teachers for the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning;
15. Understanding of how to effectively work with parents and the at-large community to improve mathematics teaching and learning;
16. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing; and
17. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018.
8VAC20-543-600. Reading specialist.
A. The reading specialist program shall ensure that the candidate has completed at least three years of successful classroom teaching experience in a public or accredited nonpublic school and has demonstrated the following competencies:
1. Assessment and diagnostic teaching. The candidate shall:
a. Demonstrate expertise in the use of formal and informal screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring assessment for language proficiency, concepts of print, phonemic awareness, letter recognition, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, reading levels, and comprehension; and
b. Demonstrate expertise in the ability to use diagnostic data to inform instruction for acceleration, intervention, remediation, and differentiation.
2. Communication: speaking, listening, media literacy. The candidate shall:
a. Demonstrate expertise in the knowledge, skills, and processes necessary for teaching communication, such as speaking, listening, and media literacy;
b. Demonstrate expertise in developing students' phonological awareness skills;
c. Demonstrate effective strategies for facilitating the learning of standard English by speakers of other languages and dialects;
d. Demonstrate an understanding of the unique needs of students with language differences and delays;
e. Demonstrate the ability to promote creative thinking and expression, such as through storytelling, drama, and choral and oral reading; and
f. Demonstrate the ability to teach students to identify the characteristics of, and apply critical thinking to, media messages and to facilitate their proficiency in using various forms of media to collaborate and communicate.
3. Reading. The candidate shall:
a. Demonstrate expertise in explicit and systematic phonics instruction, including an understanding of sound and symbol relationships, syllables, phonemes, morphemes, decoding skills, word analysis, and word attack skills;
b. Demonstrate expertise in the morphology of English including inflections, prefixes, suffixes, roots, and word relationships;
c. Demonstrate expertise in strategies to increase vocabulary;
d. Demonstrate expertise in the structure of the English language, including and understanding of syntax, semantics, and vocabulary development;
e. Demonstrate expertise in reading comprehension strategies, including a repertoire of questioning strategies, understanding the dimensions of word meanings, teaching predicting, inferencing, summarizing, clarifying, evaluating, and making connections;
f. Demonstrate expertise in the ability to teach strategies in literal, interpretive, critical, and evaluative comprehension;
g. Demonstrate the ability to develop comprehension skills in all content areas;
h. Demonstrate the ability to foster appreciation of a variety of literature;
i. Understand the importance of promoting independent reading and reading strategically through a variety of means including by selecting fiction and nonfiction texts of appropriate yet engaging topics and reading levels; and
j. Demonstrate effective strategies for teaching students to view, interpret, analyze, and represent information and concepts in visual form with or without the spoken or written word.
4. Writing. The candidate shall:
a. Demonstrate expertise in the knowledge, skills, and processes necessary for teaching writing, including the domains of composing and written expression and usage and mechanics and the writing process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and sharing;
b. Demonstrate expertise in systematic spelling instruction, including awareness of the purpose and limitations of "invented spelling," orthographic patterns, and strategies for promoting generalization of spelling study to writing; and
c. Demonstrate expertise to teach the writing process: plan, draft, revise, edit, and share in the narrative, descriptive, and explanative modes.
5. Technology. The candidate shall demonstrate expertise in their use of technology for both process and product as they work to guide students with reading, writing, and research.
6. Leadership, coaching, and specialization. The candidate shall:
a. Demonstrate an understanding of developmental psychology, including personality and learning behaviors;
b. Demonstrate an understanding of the needs of high achieving students and of strategies to challenge them at appropriate levels;
c. Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of cultural contexts upon language;
d. Demonstrate an understanding of varying degrees of learning disabilities;
e. Demonstrate expertise with educational measurement and evaluation, including validity, reliability, and normative comparisons in test design and selections;
f. Demonstrate expertise to interpret grade equivalents, percentile ranks, normal curve equivalents, and standards scores;
g. Demonstrate the ability to instruct and advise teachers in the skills necessary to differentiate reading instruction for both low and high achieving readers;
h. Demonstrate the ability to coach and support teachers through classroom observations, demonstrations, co-teaching, and other forms of job-embedded professional development;
i. Demonstrate the ability to organize and supervise the reading program within the classroom, school, or division;
j. Demonstrate effective communication skills in working with a variety of groups, including parents, teachers, administrators, and community leaders;
k. Demonstrate knowledge of current research and exemplary practices in English and reading;
l. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing;
m. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes; and
n. Complete a supervised practicum or field experience in the diagnosis and remediation of reading difficulties in a public or accredited nonpublic school.
B. Each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education that leads to a degree, concentration, or certificate for reading specialists shall include a program of coursework and other training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder. Such program shall (i) include coursework in the constructs and pedagogy underlying remediation of reading, spelling, and writing and (ii) require reading specialists to demonstrate mastery of an evidence-based, structured literacy instructional approach that includes explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018; amended, Virginia Register Volume 37, Issue 2, eff. October 14, 2020.
8VAC20-543-610. School counselor preK-12.
The school counselor preK-12 program shall ensure that the candidate has completed two years of successful, full-time teaching experience or two years of successful full-time experience in school counseling in a public or an accredited nonpublic school. Two years of successful, full-time experience in school counseling in a public or an accredited nonpublic school under a nonrenewable Provisional License may be accepted to meet this requirement. The program shall ensure that the candidate must demonstrated the following competencies:
1. The ability to support students by cooperatively working with parents and guardians and teachers.
2. Understanding of the principles and theories of human growth and development throughout the lifespan and their implications for school counseling.
3. Understanding of the social and cultural foundations of education and their implications for school counseling programs.
4. Understanding of lifespan career development.
5. Understanding of the skills and processes for counseling students to include:
a. Individual and group counseling for academic development;
b. Individual and group counseling for career development; and
c. Individual and group counseling for personal and social development.
6. Understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes for providing developmental group counseling, including:
a. Academic development;
b. Career development; and
c. Personal and social development.
7. Understanding of the skills and processes related to the school counseling program at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels, including:
a. Characteristics of learners at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels;
b. Program planning;
c. Coordination; and
d. Consultation.
8. Understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes of student appraisal and assessment relative to school counseling programs, including:
a. Individual assessment; and
b. Group assessment.
9. Understanding of the school counseling professional, including:
a. Legal considerations;
b. Ethical considerations; and
c. Professional issues and standards.
10. Understanding of the skills and processes of research and evaluation aimed at improving school counseling programs.
11. Understanding work-based learning methods of instruction such as internship, job shadowing, cooperative education, mentorship, service learning, clinical, and youth apprenticeship,
12. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing.
13. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.
14. The program shall include at least 100 clock hours of a school counselor internship and practicum experience in the preK-6 setting and 100 clock hours of internship and practicum experience in the grades 7-12 setting.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018.
8VAC20-543-620. School psychology.
The school psychology program shall ensure that the candidate has demonstrated the following competencies:
1. Knowledge of basic teaching and learning principles and the conditions under which they operate maximally, including academic environment and instructional match.
2. Knowledge and application of psychological foundations of human functioning, including biological bases of behavior; cultural diversity; infant, child, and adolescent development; effects of poverty and lack of opportunity on learning; interplay between behavior, learning and motivation; personality theory; human learning; and social bases of behavior and mental health, to ensure student academic achievement, student growth and development, and mental health.
3. Knowledge of and skill at applying educational foundations of schooling, including education of exceptional learners; evidence-based instructional and remedial interventions, techniques, and strategies; formative and summative evaluation; evidence-based behavioral interventions; and organization and operations of schools, to ensure effective collaboration with other school professionals toward implementing school practices that promote learning and mental health.
4. Knowledge of various methods for assessing students' cognitive processes and abilities and skill in administering a variety of such methods; knowledge of various methods for assessing student academic strengths and weaknesses and skill in administering a variety of such methods; knowledge of various methods for assessing student interpersonal emotional and social and behavioral functioning and skill in administering a variety of such methods; and knowledge of universal screening measures designed for early and tiered academic and behavioral intervention. Knowledge of a variety of progress monitoring tools, especially student growth percentiles and skill in implementing at least two such tools.
5. Understanding and knowledge of direct and indirect methods of academic and behavioral intervention, and proficiency in delivering such interventions, including:
a. Counseling on an individual, group, and family basis;
b. Consulting with administrators, teachers, parents, and other professionals about student problems and appropriate change strategies;
c. Designing and implementing individual and group behavior change programs; designing, implementing, and evaluating crisis intervention and threat, such as self-directed and other-directed assessment programs; and
d. Designing and implementing academic and instructional interventions.
6. Statistics and research design, measurement, and program evaluation.
7. The profession of psychology applied to schools, including:
a. Basic knowledge of the standards of practice promoted by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP);
b. Knowledge of and skill with several basic problem-solving schemes;
c. Knowledge of and ability to identify the variety of mental health problems exhibited by infants, children, and adolescents through age 21 years, including the ability to collaborate with other community-based professionals and private practitioners in providing wraparound services to the extent possible or considered as systems of care philosophy;
d. History and foundations of school psychology;
e. Legal and ethical issues of practicing in schools;
f. Professional issues and standards related to practicing as a psychologist in a public school setting; and
g. Knowledge of the roles of all individuals practicing and working in a public school setting.
8. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing.
9. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.
10. The candidate shall have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and completed 60 graduate hours, 54 of which are academic coursework, exclusive of field-based experiences, that culminate in at least a master's degree.
11. The candidate shall complete an internship in school psychology that is documented by the degree granting institution. The internship experience shall occur on a full-time basis over a period of one year or on a half-time basis over a period of two consecutive years. The internship shall occur under conditions of appropriate supervision, such as the school-based supervisor shall be licensed as either a school or clinical psychologist. The internship shall include experiences at multiple age levels, at least one half of which shall be in an accredited schooling setting.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018; amended, Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 2, eff. October 24, 2024.
8VAC20-543-630. School social worker.
The school social worker program shall ensure that the candidate has demonstrated the following competencies:
1. Understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes for direct and indirect intervention, including:
a. Facilitating integrated intervention efforts that emphasize primary prevention, early screening, and multi-tiered interventions that target multiple risk factors in various settings;
b. Identifying approaches that seek to improve individual and system factors contributing to academic success and data-informed decision making and intervention fidelity;
c. Counseling on an individual, group, or family basis;
d. Consulting with administrators, teachers, parents, and other professionals about student problems and appropriate change strategies;
e. Networking and brokering with school programs and community agencies to provide essential services for families and children; and
f. Collaborating with and facilitating collaboration among students, parents, members, administrators, teachers, and staff to identify ways to intervene early, reduce barriers to learning, and improve student outcomes.
2. Understanding of child development, psychopathology, social and environmental conditioning, cultural diversity, and family systems, including:
a. Acknowledgment of the interrelatedness of various ecological systems such as education, juvenile justice, family and children's health, mental health, and child protective services; and
b. Knowledge of social problem impact on student performance and behaviors.
3. Understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes for effective casework practice, including:
a. Examining factors in home, school, and community that impact students' educational performance and success; and
b. Assisting in reducing identified barriers to learning.
4. Specialized knowledge and understanding of the organization and operations of school systems, including:
a. Historical and current perspectives of public school education at the local, state, and national levels, including educational reform and legislation; and
b. Identifying and conveying the impact social problems, within ecological systems of home, school, and community, have on student performance in the educational setting.
5. Understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes involved with assessing and programming for exceptional students, including:
a. Skills in implementing systematic assessment, data gathering and interpretation at multiple levels, and developing action plans to address the areas of need;
b. Identifying and utilizing research-based interventions to enhance the educational opportunities and school performance of vulnerable and at-risk populations;
c. Providing leadership in developing prevention programs and policies with administrators that impact school climate, student learning, and academic success; and
d. Ability to facilitate team decision-making and problem-solving strategies.
6. Understanding of the school social work profession, including:
a. History and foundations of school social work;
b. Legal and ethical issues;
c. Professional issues and standards; and
d. The role and function of the school social worker to include contextual variables influencing school social work roles and functions, such as political, legal, ethical, and value-based issues that confront schools.
7. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing.
8. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.
9. The candidate shall have earned a master's of social work degree from an accredited institution school of social work with a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours or earned an advanced standing master's of social work degree from an accredited institution with a minimum of 30 graduate-level semester hours.
10. The candidate shall complete a minimum of six graduate semester hours in education to include six semester hours from two of the following courses:
a. Foundations of education and the teaching profession (three semester hours);
b. Characteristics of special education (three semester hours);
c. Human development and learning (three semester hours); or
d. Classroom and behavior management (three semester hours).
11. The candidate shall complete a school social worker supervised practicum or field experience of a minimum of 400 clock hours in a public or accredited nonpublic school. One year of successful, full-time experience as a school social worker in a public or accredited nonpublic school may be accepted in lieu of the school social work practicum.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018; amended, Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 2, eff. October 24, 2024.
8VAC20-543-640. Vocational evaluator.
The vocational evaluator program shall ensure that the candidate has demonstrated the following competencies:
1. Understanding of the foundations of vocational evaluation and career assessment, including philosophy and process of vocational evaluation and assessment, use of occupational and labor market information, and functional aspects of physical, mental and intellectual disabilities.
2. Understanding of the basic concepts and skills of planning for and delivering vocational evaluation and career assessment services, including the use of vocational interviewing, individualized service planning, report development and communication, and use of modifications and accommodations.
3. Ability to modify standard instruments and to develop new instruments to respond to labor markets or individual needs.
4. Understanding of the federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to special education, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
5. Understanding of the content, processes, and skills necessary to administer and report findings of standardized testing, including knowledge of tests and measurements and selection and use of appropriate instruments.
6. Above average communication skills in order to explain assessment information to school personnel, parents, students, and other service providers.
7. Understanding of natural supports and assistive technology.
8. Ability to select, administer, and interpret a wide assortment of evaluation instruments which includes commercial work sample systems, and situational assessments.
9. Understanding and knowledge of specific assessment techniques and skills and the processes for conducting vocational evaluation and career assessment, including:
a. Job and training analysis;
b. Work samples and systems;
c. Situational and community-based assessment;
d. Behavioral observation;
e. Learning and functional skills assessment; and
f. Work site assessment or ecological assessment.
10. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing.
11. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-298.2 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 24, eff. August 23, 2018.